The rail sector is increasingly focused on sustainability, aiming to accelerate its energy transition. The collaboration between Frascold and start-up Aircodue – a spin-off of the Miri Group, a leader in both the Railway and Renewable Energy sectors – is revolutionizing the industry through the development of an innovative CO₂ heat pump, equipped with Frascold’s transcritical compressor series. The partnership is built on four ambitious goals: energy savings, reduced environmental impact, lower maintenance costs, and high reliability, all in full compliance with national and international regulations.
Aircodue’s ARCA project incorporates patented technical solutions and is presented as a demonstrator of a split system with a capacity of approximately 28 kW, tailored to the needs of a medium-distance railway carriage, a common configuration in Italy. In collaboration with Frascold, the study explored the feasibility of replacing the existing system (drop-in) with a new CO₂ heat pump capable of operating within the original configuration while meeting the requirements of the entire train.
The heat pump consists of an external unit housing the compressors for the primary and auxiliary circuits, and an internal unit responsible for ventilation, providing heating and cooling to the passenger area. To identify the most suitable compressor for the application, the technical teams selected the D-TK model from Frascold’s transcritical piston series.
The results of the study are significant: the CO₂ heat pump enables energy savings ranging from 51% to 58%, depending on the location, alongside a substantial reduction in CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere.
